A relative late entry in the AS SEEN ON TV Disco album avalanche of the late Seventies, Disco Daze and Disco Nites were released in the UK on the Ronco label in 1981. In a banner on the upper left hand corner of each album was a blurb saying you could get the other album "FREE When You Buy This Album". HERC finds it odd that Daze is considered the second disc of the set based on the catalog numbers: RTL2056 B to Nites' RTL2056 A.
There are quite a few less than mainstream disco songs, most of which fared better on UK charts than in the US spread out between the two discs and all but two of the thirty-two tracks are available in the three hour Spotify playlist at the bottom of this post. HERC used his prerogative to pick the versions of the songs he likes best so they may or may not match up exactly to those of you still playing the vinyl version.
After his years at Motown, Edwin Starr scored a #1 hit on the Hot Disco Charts in 1978 with "Contact". The single replaced the trio of Chic songs - "Le Freak", "I Want Your Love" and "Chic Cheer" which had been on top of the Disco chart for six weeks. Dig that crazy orange vinyl!
Another former Motown act, Gladys Knight and the Pips, cracked the top 40 on the Disco chart with their reworking of an Ashford & Simpson classic in 1980. The title (pronounced boo-zee, boo-zee not bushy, bushy) is urban slang for "bourgeoisie" not to be confused with "boudoir". Confused?
Joe Tex maintained a public beef with James Brown in the Seventies, often upstaging the Godfather Of Soul in public performances. This cautionary tale of dancing outside of your weight class was Joe's last pop hit when it landed just outside the Top 10 in 1977. Tex later retired and eventually died on his ranch in Navasota, Texas - the same small town where HERC spent most of his childhood Summers. Chuck Norris also maintains a ranch there.
Featuring Michelle Obama's doppelganger (the middle one) on backing vocals, (Gene) McFadden and (John) Whitehead's anthemic "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now" has got to be one of the most positive songs ever. It went Top 5 in the UK and Top 10 on the US Disco chart, eventually going double platinum in 1979. The men helped define the Philadelphia International Sound with the songs they wrote for other acts like "Back Stabbers", "Bad Luck" and "Wake Up Everybody" but they had gotten their start as performers after being discovered and subsequently managed by Otis Redding until his untimely death in 1967.
Another former Motown act, Gladys Knight and the Pips, cracked the top 40 on the Disco chart with their reworking of an Ashford & Simpson classic in 1980. The title (pronounced boo-zee, boo-zee not bushy, bushy) is urban slang for "bourgeoisie" not to be confused with "boudoir". Confused?
Joe Tex maintained a public beef with James Brown in the Seventies, often upstaging the Godfather Of Soul in public performances. This cautionary tale of dancing outside of your weight class was Joe's last pop hit when it landed just outside the Top 10 in 1977. Tex later retired and eventually died on his ranch in Navasota, Texas - the same small town where HERC spent most of his childhood Summers. Chuck Norris also maintains a ranch there.
Featuring Michelle Obama's doppelganger (the middle one) on backing vocals, (Gene) McFadden and (John) Whitehead's anthemic "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now" has got to be one of the most positive songs ever. It went Top 5 in the UK and Top 10 on the US Disco chart, eventually going double platinum in 1979. The men helped define the Philadelphia International Sound with the songs they wrote for other acts like "Back Stabbers", "Bad Luck" and "Wake Up Everybody" but they had gotten their start as performers after being discovered and subsequently managed by Otis Redding until his untimely death in 1967.
The song's genesis lies in leaders Nile Rodgers (guitar) and Bernard Edwards (bass) being turned away from Studio 54 after being invited to attend the party by Grace Jones on New Year's Eve 1977. She neglected to put them on the guest list so they left disgruntled and began chanting "F@#k Off!" as they made their way back home. The song was huge in 1978 - topping the Hot 100, the Disco and R&B charts in America - and remains huge to this day as Atlantic Records' all-time biggest selling single with over seven million copies sold and downloaded. Check out Nile's Lucite-bodied guitar!
Although she wasn't the first choice to sing this song, Anita Ward made the most of her opportunity and sung the ding-dong out of "Ring My Bell" in 1979, topping the US Hot 100, Disco and R&B/Soul charts as well as the UK and Canadian Singles charts. Interestingly, the song was displaced from the top of the three American charts by Donna Summer's "Bad Girls", another stick of disco dynamite. HERC always dances with a tiny bell above his head to this song, much to MRS. HERC's chagrin.
No comments:
Post a Comment